PANICKING passengers were forced to escape an easyJet flight by sliding down inflatable chutes after it caught fire.
The Airbus A320 was taxiing on the runway when cabin crew spotted smoke coming from an overhead locker.
Thecaptain immediately abandoned take off and deployed the chutes, with the plane’s 146 passengers escaping through the emergency exits.
Ambulances and fire crew rushed to the plane after the incident at Milan Malpensa Airport. Passengers on nearby taxiing aircraft were also evacuated as a precaution.
Two people on board the flight to Czech capital Prague suffered minor injuries as they exited the aircraft.
Italy’s air accident agency ANSV believe a lithium power bank overheated and caught fire, sparking the blaze.
The incident comes after an easyJet flight was forced to divert after a passenger left their charging bank inside their suitcase.
EasyJet‘s website states that ‘power banks are prohibited from use on easyJet aircraft and must not be used to charge other devices’.
It adds that ‘power banks must be carried in carry-on baggage only and it is recommended that power banks are carried whey they can be monitored ie on your person’.
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In May, the UK Civil Aviation Authority issued a stark warning about summer flights being delayed by wrongly packed electrical gadgets such as vapes and power banks.
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